Battle of Zhouzhi

The Battle of Zhouzhi was fought in 192 AD between the forces of the Liang Province warlords Ma Teng and Han Sui and Dong Zhuo's former generals Li Jue and Guo Si.

Background
In 192 AD, Dong Zhuo was murdered by Lu Bu on the orders of the loyal Han minister Wang Yun, who sought to end Dong Zhuo's tyranny and restore Emperor Xian of Han to power. However, Dong Zhuo's generals Li Jue, Guo Si, Niu Fu, Fan Chou, and Zhang Ji rebelled against the Han loyalists and burned Chang'an to the ground, killing Wang Yun and several loyal ministers and forcing Lu Bu to flee. As a result, Li Jue and Guo Si became the new tyrants ruling over the Emperor, so the Liang Province warlords Ma Teng and Han Sui prepared an army of 100,000 troops to march on Chang'an. There, they counted on the support of imperial officials Ma Yu, Chong Shao, and Liu Fan for their support in taking the city.

Battle
While the usurpers' strategist Jia Xu advised them to wait for 100 days until the besiegers' supplies ran out, Li Meng and Wang Fang boasted that, if they were given 10,000 troops, they could put an end to the invasion, and swore that they would offer their own heads if they were defeated. Jia Xu then allowed for them to attack as Zhang Ji and Fan Chou would occupy the Zhouzhi Hills 70 miles west of the capital to support the attack. 15,000 horse and foot were sent out of Chang'an to confront the invading Xiliang army. The battle began when Ma Teng sent out his son Ma Chao to do battle, and Ma Chao slew both Li Meng and Wang Fang in single combat. The usurpers' soldiers then fled in all directions, and Li Jue and Guo Si were forced to take Jia Xu's advice and stay on the defensive. They also discovered fron one of Ma Yu's servants that Ma Yu, Chong Shao, and Liu Fan planned to betray them, so they had them and their families executed and their heads displayed at the front gate of the capital. Sure enough, Ma Teng and Han Sui's army ran out of supplies, and, seeing that their co-conspirators had already been executed, they were forced to retreat. Zhang Ji then pursued Ma Teng as Fan Chou pursued Han Sui, and Ma Chao's desperate efforts drove off Zhang Ji's forces. Han Sui then met with Fan Chou and convinced him that, since they were fellow villagers and since Han Sui was merely serving the state, Fan Chou should let him escape. Li Jue's nephew witnessed this arrangement and reported this to his uncle, who had Fan Chou beheaded at a feast for dereliction of duty. Zhang Ji then took command of Fan Chou's army and encamped at Hongnong.

Aftermath
Ma Teng and Han Sui returned to Liang Province in defeat, while Li Jue and Guo Si remained the regents for Emperor Xian. Shortly after, they called upon Cao Cao to crush Yellow Turban remnants in Yan Province, and they would remain in power until they, like Dong Zhuo, fell out over a woman and murdered each other in 198.